Cursed Beauty (A Fairy Retelling #1) Read Online Free

her over with just a basket full of croissants, no matter how good they tasted.  “Please forgive my forwardness, Miss Adelaide, for calling on you so unexpectedly. I can see that you are quite surprised by my arrival.”
    Surprised, or furious? Her scowl had only deepened over the few seconds he’d been standing there. The other girl was standing speechless as well, her mouth hanging open. The prince had been standing outside the door for a good five minutes before he gathered enough courage to knock. Based on the congenial conversation that he could hear from within, he knew both of the girls contained the capacity for speech. Unfortunately, they weren’t demonstrating so now.
    The prince cleared his throat, and decided to go through with his plan. Likely, the girl wouldn’t accept his invitation anyway, but he might as well try to make amends. “I’ve come to invite you to the Royal Ball this evening,” he said, deciding the direct approach might be the best.
    Adelaide’s jaw dropped. The two girls, though they couldn’t be more different from each other in appearance, looked strikingly similar with their mouths hanging agape.
    The prince continued, “Tonight begins a three day feast for my brother’s twenty-first birthday. The Elder Prince has invited families who have been very dutiful in the employ of the king. I wanted to make sure that you knew you were welcome to join us at the castle for the next three evenings.”
    He held out an ornately decorated invitation to Adelaide. Though her frown was gone, she didn’t smile. Adelaide looked at Merelyn. Merelyn nodded as if to say Take it . Adelaide sighed, straightened her shoulders, and said, “Thank you, Prince Julian, for your very generous gift, but I must politely decline.”
    It was Julian’s turn to be surprised.
    “Are you sure, Adelaide?” Merelyn whispered, grabbing Adelaide’s arm.
    “I’m quite sure,” she nodded. “Thank you, Your Grace, but I do not think I will be able to attend such a glorious event. I have been very recently thrown into circumstances which are taking my utmost concentration.”
    “What circumstances are those?” he asked, realizing as he said the words that he was being intrusive.
    For the first time since he had set eyes on the girl, Adelaide smiled. It was a tight smile though, and didn’t reach her eyes.  “I’m learning to cook,” she answered. “Good bye, Your Majesty.”
    Adelaide shut the door, knowing full well that she was not only showing incredibly poor manners, but teetering on the verge of unlawfulness. One does not shut their door in the face of the king’s son. Adelaide was too angry to care.
    “What in the world are you doing?” Merelyn asked. “Do you realize what you’ve done? You not only refused the prince’s very generous gift, and insultingly so, but then you went and slammed the door in his face. Are you mad?”
    Adelaide stormed her way back to the kitchen. “How dare he!” she shouted at the nearest pot as she slammed it onto the table. She grabbed a knife and a potato and began slicing off its skin.
    “What’s wrong?” Merelyn questioned, eyeing Adelaide’s ever-shrinking potato. By the time Adelaide had peeled off half its skin, it had shrunk to the size of a small rock.
    “It’s not enough that he’s insulted me, but now he seeks to make a mockery of me? Unbelievable!”
    “What are you talking about, Adelaide? How could he make a mockery of you?”
    Adelaide dropped the miniscule potato into the pot and picked up another unfortunate tuber. “What does he think will happen if I show up at a royal ball? It doesn’t matter how fine my clothes are. Even if I did have something suitable to wear, which I don’t, of course, there is nothing that will hide this,” she said, holding the knife dangerously close to her birthmarked face, flushed as red as her hair.
    “Oh, Adelaide, surely that’s not what the prince meant.”
    “How do you know?” she asked, throwing